Leanne Banks - A Home for Nobody's Princess

“Thank you for putting up with me this afternoon,” said Coco.

The expression in her blue eyes made Benjamin’s chest knot. “It wasn’t anything. I just want you to feel better,” he said, and squeezed her shoulder.

She rose on tiptoe and surprised the heck out of him when she brushed her soft lips across his jaw. “It was a big something to me,” she countered, then left.

Benjamin rubbed his jaw where she’d kissed him. He wondered if the rest of her was as soft as her lips. He wondered what her lips would feel like on his body. He wondered what kind of sounds she would make if he kissed her and touched her all over.

Crazy, he told himself. If there was one woman he shouldn’t even be thinking about taking to his bed, it was Coco. She was too important to him because of his daughter Emma.

Coco was off-limits and he was damned determined to make sure he didn’t forget it.

Dear Reader,

Have you ever wondered if you were switched at birth? What if you were actually an heiress to millions? Or what if you were actually royalty? I mean, really, doesn’t the title Princess sound a lot more fun than Miss or Ms?

Well, our nanny heroine, Coco Jordan, is an ordinary girl and she wasn’t switched at birth. She was adopted, and her parents have passed away. She has no family, and she’s focused on helping rancher Benjamin Garner bond with his motherless infant daughter. Coco’s life is turned upside down when she finds out her birth father was a prince, and Benjamin steps in to help protect her from all the unwanted attention from the press. But can Benjamin’s protectiveness turn into love? Stay tuned.

And about that first question of wondering if I was switched at birth … I actually feel as if I hit the jackpot with my parents because of how much they have always loved and encouraged me. If you get a chance to read Coco’s story, I would love to hear from you at leannebbb@aol.com.

Wishing you love and laughter,

Leanne Banks

LEANNE BANKSis a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author who is surprised every time she realizes how many books she has written. Leanne loves chocolate, the beach and new adventures. To name a few, Leanne has ridden on an elephant, stood on an ostrich egg (no, it didn’t break), gone parasailing and indoor skydiving. Leanne loves writing romance because she believes in the power and magic of love. She lives in Virginia with her family and a four-and-a-half-pound Pomeranian named Bijou. Visit her website, www.leannebanks.com.

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This book is dedicated to the babes:

Coco, Ann, Terri, Mina, Rose, Peggy, Sharon, Jane,

Kathy, Kathy, Kim, Sandy, Catherine, Terry.

You are a constant source of inspiration to me.

His daughter hated him.

Benjamin Garner carefully opened the front door to his sprawling two-story house and paused. Even though he was six foot four and had been described as two hundred pounds of muscle due to the hard work he put in on his cattle ranch of over ten thousand acres, he’d become a stranger in his own home.

Why? Because his five-month-old daughter couldn’t stand him.

Every time he came toward her, she gave a shriek that would wake the entire country of New Zealand, and New Zealand was a good fifteen-hour flight away from the town of Silver City, Texas.

He stepped as lightly as he could in his boots. Coco Jordan, the young nanny who had seemed to work magic with baby Emma from the first time the two had met, had assured him that Emma could sleep through regular environmental noises, but he didn’t quite believe her.

Sometimes Benjamin wondered if his daughter had special powers and could smell him or hear him breathe even from the front door when she was upstairs in the nursery. Benjamin scowled at himself. This just showed what a nutcase he was becoming.

His dog, Boomer, limped out to greet him. Boomer had been one of his best herding dogs, but after he’d gotten his leg twisted in some barbed wire, he couldn’t run fast enough. Benjamin figured the dog had earned his retirement, so Boomer spent his days trying to catch scraps from his housekeeper’s cooking and dozing on the sofa. Benjamin reached down to give the mixed-breed dog a rub on his head, but was quiet about it. At least his dog liked him.

Heading for his office at the back of the house, he strode past the kitchen.

“Ah!”

His stomach knotted. He knew that sound. He knew that voice. He kept on moving.

“Benjamin.” The low, sweet voice of the nanny called to him. “You can’t avoid her forever.”

“Ah!” Emma said.

Taking a deep breath, he turned and faced the two of them, standing in the kitchen doorway. His daughter stared at him with big blue suspicious eyes, while Coco was all soft, pretty encouragement. Emma wasn’t screaming—yet. Maybe she was just gearing up for it.

“She just finished eating, so she should be in a good mood. Don’t you want to hold her?”

Hell, no, he thought. A rattlesnake was easier to handle. He shifted his hat back and shrugged. “I haven’t washed up.”

“That’s okay. A little dirt won’t kill her.”

“Okay,” he said, opening his arms, preparing himself for his daughter’s rejection of him. “I’ll hold her.”

Coco moved closer and Benjamin noticed that Emma’s eyes seemed to grow larger with each step she took. “Here you go,” she murmured to Emma. “This is your big strong daddy and he will always take care of you. There’s no need to be afraid of him. He’s on your side.”

Coco gently placed Emma in his arms and he drew her close to his chest, holding his breath. Emma stared up at him, her eyes wide. He counted silently. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

She pressed her lips together and glanced toward Coco. As soon as her lower lip jutted out in a perfectly defined pout, he knew what was coming. His daughter let out a high-pitched sound of distress that quickly grew in volume. He met Coco’s discouraged gaze and shook his head.

“Here,” he said, handing Emma back to the nanny. “There’s no need to torture the poor thing. That’s why I hired you.”

Coco patted Emma on the back in a soothing motion. “But we have to get her used to you. We have to find a way—”

“Maybe by the time she hits her first birthday, she’ll like me better,” he said and turned away, tamping down his own sense of discouragement.

“Wait,” Coco said, and he felt her hand on his arm.

He glanced over his shoulder.

“Maybe she doesn’t like your hat,” she said. “Maybe if you take it off, she’ll—”

“I’ll give it a try next time,” he said. “Right now, I need to enter some stock updates on the computer. Later,” he said and strode the rest of the way to his office.